Defining Public Asset Management for Municipal Water Utilities

Abstract

This article describes public asset management as incorporating the management of all things that are of value to a jurisdiction, its mission and purpose, and citizen's expectations. With 85% of U.S. water utilities owned or controlled by governments and municipalities, asset management for utilities falls under the larger umbrella of public asset management. The article focuses on geographic information system‐ (GIS‐) centric public asset management, which has a foundation that standardizes data and allows interoperability, providing users with the capability of reusing, coordinating, and sharing information in an efficient and effective manner. The article demonstrates how a GIS platform combined with the overall public asset management umbrella of both hard (physical) assets and soft assets helps remove the traditional silos of structured municipal functions.